Kitsune to Sakura no Ki
by Odd-Tiger
Summary: NaruSaku Oneshot (LONG STORY). Naruto the nine-tailed fox meets a cherry blossom tree named Sakura. He offers to stay with and protect her until the perfect one she is to love, of whom's form her soul within the tree will take, appears. But when Naruto no longer hears her voice and the village is attacked, what will he do? Some strong language and gore, rated M for that reason.


Note: Hey guys! Just got thru some finals at school so I've officially finished this quarter and now have a month long break, so hopefully within that time I'll have the next chapter or two up on my other Naruto story you all seem to like so much. Sorry for the wait on it, I've been trying to work on it but school and life just got in the way . Anyway to make up for it, enjoy this story I had written long before LLLIDY and it's been sitting in my documents since, hope you all like it! I'd like to read some positive reviews so feel free to leave them ! Till next time, Odd out!

 **Kitsune to Sakura no Ki**

It was mid-summer. The days were hot and long, but the grass was cool to the touch beneath, and many flowers of sorts bloomed and flourished. The leaves on the sun-kissed trees danced in the breeze that blew through with grace, whispering sweet nothings in the ears of those willing to listen. The day that dawned, was a peaceful one, for all except one left alone without anyone to talk to. Not a friend in the world. He had nobody, the fox.

In an open flower field of lush greenness dappled with beautiful colored flowers, lied the fox by himself. There had been many unique beings to inhabit the area of the dancing leaves, but this one was different indeed. His pelt was the color of a burning fire, a bright reddish-orange that shined in the sun. On his face were distinct black markings that ran down the sides of the bridge of his muzzle, covered over his eyes, and up into his long ears. His cheeks bore three whisker marks on each side and around his neck hung a pretty green crystal on a string, shining brightly in the light and stood out from his reddish-orange fur. This fox was shunned by all, for the nine tails he had. And unlike those he saw around him, he possessed a special chakra that no one else did. He truly was different.

The heat of the day was enough to put him to sleep while he sunbathed alone on a large, flat stone. He lied on his stomach to allow his back to be warmed by the gigantic circular object in the sky, while he rested his head on his sloppily folded paws, snoring quietly away in his slumber. He was awoken by a sweet scent that blew on the breeze, and he opened his bright, warm, cerulean blue eyes. Blinking a couple times to adjust to the light, he lifted his head and let out a big yawn showing off his long fangs that often protruded passed his black lips. He looked around at the field, sat up and stretched his body to let his spine crack as it straightened itself out, and jumping from his resting stone onto the grass.

"What a day", he commented to himself out loud, to no one in particular. He knew he was alone, but to him it was nothing new, by now he was used to it. For all seventeen years of his life, he lived alone. No mother, no father, no aunt nor uncle nor grandmother or grandfather. Forever alone.

As he rolled around in the grass, enjoying the cool feeling after lying in the sun for so long, he began to hear the faint sounds of what sounded like someone weeping. He sat up again with his ears somewhat perked, and his curiosity got the better of him. He stood up to his four paws and began to head towards the sound in a run that slowly picked up speed. On the way he received glares from a few passersby, glares he was all too familiar with, glares of hatred and hidden fear. He ignored them, even if he could feel them burn into his soul.

He followed the sound of the weeping to a cherry blossom tree that grew next to a sparkling pond, and as he neared it, the weeping became quieted until it was completely silent. He stopped at the base of the tree and looked around panting from his run, ears perking to see if he might pick up the sound again, although he was sure it was from here. "H-hello?", he spoke out, looking around cautiously for anyone to appear.

"Hello?", he heard another voice, female, in response, and it came from the tree, which made him jump back wide-eyed. "Oh…Did I scare you?", asked the female voice from the tree, and it sounded so angelic and fragile, yet strong and embracing.

"M-maybe a little…", said the fox as he looked confused at the tree before him. "It's just that I've never seen nor heard a talking tree before", he said. The breeze blew by again, and the sweet scent he picked up on a little bit ago came strongly at him as the loose cherry blossom petals floated on the breeze around him. And he liked it.

"What brings you here, fox?", asked the voice from the tree as the breeze died down once again.

"I heard someone crying, and the sound led me here. Did you see anyone crying around here?", stated the fox as he looked around again at the surroundings, but saw no one.

"You…Heard me?", asked the tree, surprise and shock evident in her voice.

"That was you?", asked the fox, sharing the same tone in his own voice. "But why? What're you crying about?", his curiosity begged to know.

"Its…Nothing!", the tree lied, trying to avoid answering his questions.

However, the fox was not too easily fooled, and could tell there was a lie in her words. For that, he gave her a look to show he was unconvinced. "I know you're lying. You can tell me", he said.

"Alright…", the tree gave in, knowing she had been caught. "I was crying because there are so many snakes around here and I don't like them. One bit my root not too long ago and slithered off", she explained.

The fox looked down at said root, and spotted the marks of the snake's bite. For some reason, this made him feel…Furious. How could someone bring harm to something so, beautiful? He looked back up when he heard her speak again.

"I have no protection from those snakes…", admitted the tree, which gave him an idea.

"Well…I could protect you?", the fox suggested with a wide grin on his maw, looking up at her with his warm blue eyes that lit up when caught in the light just at the right angle, as he stood up on his hind legs and gently placed his front paws on her trunk, standing about a foot or so taller than the average human in height.

"Your eyes…They're…", even though the tree herself didn't have eyes, she could still see his, as they sparkled at her.

"They're…What?", the fox tilted his head to one side, curiosity never satisfied.

"They're blue", said the tree, although that wasn't what she really wanted to say, but she kept it to herself.

"Yeah? So what about it? Is blue a bad color?", he asked, removing his paws and coming to a sitting position, with an expression composed of both mildly upset and somewhat hurt appearances on his features.

"N-no! But they're so blue. That's all! I…I kinda like them", said the tree a bit softly at the end.

"Oh…Well…Nobody's ever said anything like that about them before. T-thanks…I guess", the fox said, a bit flattered and a tiny bit flustered by her comment, having never heard anything like that be said towards him ever in his life.

"You're kind of a strange one, what's your name fox? Do you have one?", the tree asked him.

"The name's Naruto", the fox introduced himself, putting a paw to his chest as a gesture to his introduction of his name, who he was identified as.

"Naruto, huh?", the tree questioned, and the fox now known as Naruto nodded in confirmation.

"The one and only, lonely fox with nine tails", he said, although he didn't sound too proud of that announcement. "What is your name?", he asked, trying to turn the topic away from him.

The tree felt a sudden shard of sympathy for Naruto, the lonely fox as he put it, she too often felt a little lonely every now and then. "I-I'm Sakura…", she told him, trying to push those thoughts to the back of her mind.

"Sakura?", once again he tilted his head inquisitively, and before she could say more he spoke up again, keeping her silent. "I like it! It's a pretty name!", he grinned at her, but there was nothing but warmth and friendly kindness showing in it.

"R-really?", asked Sakura, not expecting to hear him say such a thing, especially since she never thought her name was that pretty.

"Of course! I think you're beautiful, the name is fitting!", nodded Naruto. He was sincere with his words.

"W-well…You haven't seen my true self yet…I'm not suppose to be a tree", Sakura said taken aback even more by his words of sincerity.

"What do you mean?", Naruto asked her, his curiosity returning with a look of confusion to accompany it.

"Well see…I'm a Haruno, and with the Harunos', we start out as a soul in a tree until someone comes along and shows them love, and that is when they take the form of that someone. Problem is…I thought I had found that love, but it turned out he was a snake…And I already told you, I don't like snakes", she explained, a bit hesitantly.

"Well you said you don't have protection from those snakes you talked about. Maybe you'd like me to protect you until this someone comes by?", asked Naruto.

"I…I'd like that. Thanks Naruto", Sakura said, she would of nodded if she could, but the tone of her voice was enough to tell him how grateful she truly was deep down for his offer.

"No problem. You may not really need me here, but it's nice to know someone wants me around", Naruto nodded as he lied flat on his stomach, crossing his paws over each other and fanning his tails out on the ground.

"Why do you say that? Don't you have any friends?", Sakura asked him, a bit fearful for the answer she knew to come.

"No. I have nobody. You see nobody wants anything to do with me, they don't want to be around me, or talk to me at all. I've been around for seventeen years and don't have hardly anything to value. Sure I've got the significant few that'll so much as exchange a single hello with me but that's about it. I'm not needed. I'm not wanted. I'm alone. Always have been, always will be and never more. And ya' know, if you don't want me around anymore just say so and I'll leave", Naruto explained with a somber frown on his face, looking out at the distance towards the line of trees that bordered the field.

"Why would I tell you to leave?", asked Sakura. "What is it others don't like about you?".

"I'm a freak", he put plainly with a shrug and a blunt expression as he looked up at her. "I'm not normal, and others don't like abnormalities. I'm a nine tailed fox, with a different type of chakra, and everyone thinks that's a bad thing. My parents died when I was real young so, I've been alone for as long as I can remember. Uh with the help of a few that don't mind my presence, in surviving up till this point, of course. But other than that, I'm a lone fox. The mere shadow of someone waiting to be acknowledge for once", he hadn't ever opened up to anyone like this before, and he was the type to have to build up trust in someone before he could be this open, yet he had only just met Sakura and he was acting like he had known her for years. It only dawned on him a few seconds after he had finished speaking and he finally realized what he had just said and done. "Maybe I went a little too far into that…", he said in a bit of a mumble, but Sakura still heard.

"Why would you think that?", she asked in almost a voice of fear. "You're just unique is all. Sometimes it's good to be different, but not everyone is going to recognize that, so you just have to show them", she told him.

"But how? How can I show them when they won't even listen or talk to me? All I get is glares of hate, not a single friendly glance", Naruto asked.

"Well…I don't know. It all depends on what it takes for them to see the good in your heart", Sakura answered, although unsure if it was the right one to give him.

The two talked back and forth until sunset, getting to know who the other was. Naruto was never the more happy that he even had someone to talk to, to begin with. He showed her his necklace which he had won from someone in a bet, someone who was just one of those significant few he mentioned earlier before and how important it was to him. She was fascinated by it, how it shined against his fur and really brought out those deep blue eyes of his. She couldn't tell what was going on, but she was beginning to become attached to Naruto, he made for a good conversationalist it seemed, but that wasn't the only thing she liked about him. She could tell that despite what others thought of him, he had a good nature inside, his intentions were pure and he had a heart of gold. He showed the kindness to her that no one else did, and it made her feel right when she returned that kindness to him and he smiled at it. That smile. It was bright, heart-warming, and reassuring. Even if it did hide his sadness behind it. And all Naruto could think of is how beautiful she was in his eyes. Her angelic voice, her sweet scent of cherry, her warmth towards him that he had never been shown to by any other. To him, she was perfect, and he liked her. He could tell, just by imagining it in his mind, that her smile was the cutest thing to him. There was no explaining it, because before he realized it, he was in love.

It grew quiet as much as the sky grew dark, and Naruto was curled up next to what would be Sakura's feet if she had any, sound asleep. Sakura watched over him as he slept, beginning to see how much more cute he seemed to become by the minute.

" _What's going on with me? What is this feeling?_ ", she thought to herself, wondering why each time she looked at Naruto she felt strange and jittery. Was she falling in love with this lonely fox?

Naruto stirred a little, interrupting her thoughts, but he hadn't woken. The warm summer breeze of the night blew through and fluttered her cherry blossom petals, causing them to fall and nearly bury Naruto in them. His ear twitched a couple times when a couple petals tickled it as they brushed lightly by. The sweet scent of the petals surrounding him and also carried on the breeze made him feel at peace, allowing him to fall into an even deeper slumber.

"Good night…Naruto", Sakura said softly out loud, the moon and stars shining down on them and illuminating the field in its soft glow, perfecting the night around the fox and the cherry blossom tree.

The next morning the sun rose high behind the mountains, turning the once was night sky into fire, chasing away the moon and stars to take over for its turn of twelve hours. Morning dew sparkled on every leaf, every flower petal, every blade of grass. But something seemed to be missing. No, someone. Sakura awoke to find Naruto gone, he wasn't anywhere near, and she wondered where he went to. It saddened her to think he'd leave her alone. But then, "Morning Sakura!", she heard his voice although it was a bit muffled, and recognized the familiar reddish-orange furball as he trotted across the field towards her while he carried something in his mouth. The object he clamped his jaws on looked to be an apple, a deep red and nearly perfectly round.

"Good morning, Naruto!", she said in delight, but tried to hide how excited and happy she was to see him.

"I hope you don't mind? I knew there was an apple tree somewhere around here so I went to find it", came his muffled voice once again as he gently set his apple on the ground and sat down, looking up at her. "I hope I didn't leave you alone for too long?", he said, half questioningly.

"No. Not at all", Sakura gave a chuckle to him, and he smiled that big bright smile again, making her feel warm inside. Because that smile reassured her that he wasn't going anywhere, that he wouldn't leave her, not ever. Already the two had a tight bond.

Naruto nawed on his apple, the crisp taste was refreshing and sweet. He picked the ripest one on the tree. It only took him a few minutes to naw it down to the core, and he discarded it to be recycled into the ground. He licked his lips free of any stickiness left behind by the fruit.

Sakura only watched him in silence, and if she had a visible smile, she'd be grinning wide at him. But then, the sound of a hiss caught her attention and she looked to see a white snake coming towards them. "Naruto!", she warned him. He looked up and then towards the sound of a second hiss from said snake. He stood up quickly on all four paws and growled, baring his fangs, neck fur bristling.

"Stay away from her!", he warned the snake with a growl.

The snake's yellow eyes gleamed with cunning trickery. "My dear boy, what makes you think I'd harm your precious tree?", asked the snake.

"Naruto be careful! That's a white snake! He's dangerous, watch out for his bite!", Sakura told Naruto, worried he'd get hurt.

"It's alright Sakura. I'm here to protect you, not myself. Your life matters more than mine", he said over his shoulder at her, which wasn't exactly what she was expecting to hear.

" _Naruto…_ ", she thought, as everything else seemed to tune out, and she saw only him.

Naruto threw a strike of his claws at the snake, but the serpent dodged and coiled around his arm, slithering up to his shoulder swiftly and digging his venom dripping fangs into Naruto's cheek. The fox hollered in a yelp as he tried to shake the snake off, cheek burning with the venom and fur a dark crimson red with his blood

"No! Naruto!", Sakura was broken from her reverie when the sound of his yelp registered in her thoughts, and she saw him struggling to get the snake off of him.

Finally Naruto was able to remove the serpent from his arm and face, cheek dripping with blood from two large and deep wound marks, created by the snake's fangs. He growled, curling his lips in a snarl, with one eye more narrowed than the other due to his wound.

"Bastard!", he growled, and charged at the snake, snarling and ready to attack, and this time prepared to counter if the snake decided to repeat its assault.

However, the white serpent had different ideas. A sudden cloud of smoke covered around him and when it cleared, he was ten times his size, big enough to practically swallow Naruto whole if he wanted to.

Naruto skid to a stop and soon found his entire self wrapped in the snake's coils, all except his head, but still he growled at his enemy.

"My dear boy. Didn't your mother and father ever tell you, not to play with snakes? We are dangerous creatures, you know", hissed the white snake, earning a glare from the fox. But, the glare wasn't steel strong, tears formed at the corner of his eyes at the mention of his parents, which there was a lack there of. "Crying I see? I thought you were stronger than that, nine tails?", hissed the snake with a sly grin.

Naruto knew he was pinned, and he heard Sakura behind them screaming his name in fear for his life, but the more he struggled for freedom the tighter the snake's coils around his body became. Finally, as a last attempt, he opened his jaws wide and bit down as hard as he could into the scaly skin with all the might he had.

The snake hissed as he felt the pinch, eyes narrowing. As he wrapped his tail around Naruto's foot, he quickly slithered off towards the forest, dragging the fox with him.

"Naruto, no! Naruto! NARUTO!", Sakura screamed his name as much as she could but couldn't do anything to save him as she watched her friend be dragged away.

"Sa-SAKURA!", Naruto cried, digging his claws into the ground as deep as he could in hopes of slowing down the snake, but to no avail. All it did was tear up the grass and the ground as he was dragged on. "SAKURAAAAAA!", was the last thing she heard from him before he disappeared beyond the tree line, and it grew eerily silent as Sakura again wept with sadness.

It seemed as if she had wept for hours, the skies overhead growing dark gray with clouds that threatened rain. The sun was gone. She couldn't believe Naruto had been taken from her just like that, the images of the scene played back in her mind. She saw an image of him smiling at her, his kind blue eyes shining brightly back towards her. It felt so real that she thought she could hear him say her name.

"Sakura", she heard, as more images flashed through her mind. "Sakura", she heard again, this time it sounded louder. "Sakura?", for the third time, but it sounded too real. She soon realized it was, when she saw he was standing in front of her. But his body was badly beaten and bloody from the fight with the white serpent. He was trembling severely, it looked as if his legs were about to give out on him, unable to support a reddish-orange mass of blood and wound covered fur.

"Naruto!", she cried out his name at the sight of his condition.

"I told you…I'd…", he panted out, but still gave her his smile, taking one more weak step towards her before finally collapsing. "…Protect…You…", were the last two words he spoke before he finally hit the ground, and fell unconscious.

"Naruto…", Sakura said his name softly as slowly, though no one would think it possible, she reached down to him with her branches and lightly stroked his battered form.

He was still alive, still breathing and still with her. The tips of her branches began to accumulate a green glow as she began to heal him with her chakra. His wounds began to heal quickly, faster that she thought, but still it would take a while until he was completely healed. He had massive internal injuries, not just bleeding gashes.

" _He's recovering quickly. He's so resilient, he'll be healed completely by tomorrow morning…I hope_ ", she thought. Then, she spotted a strange black marking on his abdomen. She realized it was not just a marking, it was the Eight Trigrams Seal, one of the nine different seals used to mark someone as a demon, or abnormal being. At first she was afraid upon the discovery, but she knew Naruto was no demon, otherwise he wouldn't be so kind or have any feeling or heart in him. He was just…Misunderstood.

Next day. It was cool and the sun kept peeking out passed the clouds. It was quiet, the only sound there was, was the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves.

Naruto stirred as he opened his blue eyes. He lifted his head and looked around to see where he was, the last he remembered was coming back to Sakura, everything else was a blur in his memory.

"Feeling better?", he heard an angelic voice ask him, genuinely full of concern. He turned his gaze to look towards the source of it.

"Sakura…?", he said softly in a near whisper, moving his stiff body, it racked with soreness and he winced as he sat up slowly.

"It's me. I'm here", Sakura said as softly back to him, happy to see he was ok but still concerned at the sound of his wince.

"Are…Are you ok, Sakura?", he asked her weakly. He was the one that got hurt, and yet she was the only thing that mattered? He was crazy, he had to be, to think of her well being over his own in such a way.

"What are you talking about?! You got hurt! And all just for me!?", she couldn't believe him, and couldn't help but yell at him for it. "You're so reckless!", she told him.

"I know I am…", he said, standing up slowly and moving towards her, standing on his hind legs with all the energy he had and placing his front paws on her trunk gently, looking up at her with those blue eyes. "But for you, it's worth it. I don't matter, I'm unimportant, I'm just a loner. But you, you're everything, you're important, you matter. And it was my promise to protect you, I don't break my promises, I live up to them", he told her, all the while holding that special smile steadily on his face.

Sakura began to weep once again, his words were cutting deep, she never thought of herself as important as he said she was. But his smile, it truly was as sincere as he ever really could be, his honesty was genuine.

"Sakura, please don't cry", he let out a whine, letting his long ears droop and giving a bit of a pouty face. "I hate to hear you cry", he said sadly, suddenly wrapping his paws around her trunk in a hug while curling his tails around the base of what would be her feet.

"But..I…I'm not that important!", she cried to him.

"You are to me", he said sweetly. "Don't ever doubt yourself Sakura, don't ever set low standards for yourself to live to when you know you can live higher than that, and don't ever think you're not important. You're beautiful, don't ever think otherwise", he told her.

"But…I'm not beautiful, I'm a tree, and trees aren't beautiful", she sobbed.

"But this one is", he smiled at her. "I don't need to see your true form to know how beautiful you are, I see it in my head each time I look your way and hear your soft angelic voice, and pick up on your sweet scent of cherry blossoms. Everyone's unique right? You're unique to me, and I like different, because it means that I'm not alone", he said to her.

"You…Do you really mean all that, Naruto?", Sakura asked after she sobbed again.

"Sakura, I hate people that lie to others and to themselves, I wouldn't ever lie to you. Besides, I'm a horrible liar anyway", he said with as much seriousness as he could muster, and then chuckled when he made fun of himself.

For a few moments it fell silent between the two, while he continued to hug her in his furry arms, and she could feel his warmth against her. Could it be? Love? She couldn't tell how she felt about him, her emotions were all mixed together, and she couldn't tell for sure if it was because he loved her that he was telling her all this, or if it was because of his friendly nature to make her feel good about herself.

"Naruto?", she said his name in a soft whimper with the hint of a question in it.

"Hm?", he looked back up at her again, waiting patiently for her to speak her mind to him, however open she wanted to be. No matter what, he'd listen to her.

"Why are you being so nice to me? Why are you saying these things? What did I do to deserve this?", she asked him, wanting a straight answer from him, given he said he'd never lie.

"Because you're my best friend", he said with his bright smile spread wide across his face, eyes soft and warming, sparkling in the beam of sun that shown through the clouds.

She was taken aback by his response, which made her hesitant to ask her next question, but before she could control her actions, it began to slip out in formed words. "What is love to you?", she had asked.

"Love?", he tilted his head, giving it thought. "Well, love is…Love is…It's…", he struggled for the right words to use for the perfect answer, and he fell silent for a few minutes thinking of what to say. "Love. Everyone says that love hurts, but that's not true. Loneliness hurts. Rejection hurts. Losing someone hurts. And I would know how that all feels. Everyone confuses these things with love, but in reality…Love is the only thing in this world that covers up all the pain, and makes us feel wonderful again. And with what I've been through in my life, I would know for sure, that pretending to be happy when you're in pain is just an example of how strong you are as a person. I'll admit, I've felt lost, I've been hurt, and I've cried. But when I'm around others, I smile like I've never cried, fight like I've never felt lost, loved like I've never been hurt, and live as if I'll die tomorrow. That is what makes it all important in life. Trust, strength, and love", Naruto said, wearing that bright smile that warmed her and made her feel safe.

Now she could be sure without a single shred of a doubt, that he had a heart, he had feelings…He was no demon.

"Naruto?", she again spoke his name softly, but more calmly in tone.

"Yes Sakura?", he looked up at her as he let go and sat down, tails curling neatly around his paws. But she didn't answer right away, which made him a bit confused, but still he waited patiently for her to say something.

"Thank you", she told him, reaching her branches down and returning his hug he had given her. This caught him by surprise, but felt happy he could share his happiness with her.

"You're welcome Sakura. I'm always here for you, when you need me", he told her. " _And I love you, too_ ", he thought in his head but was afraid to say it out loud. He didn't know if or when he'd ever be able to get the guts to tell her that truth, and was afraid she'd reject him. But, he had promised her he'd protect her until that special someone came around, and he knew that when that happened, it would be then the time that he'd have to let her go. But could he?

Weeks of the last summer days passed by, and Naruto never left Sakura's side. He'd sleep under her sweet smelling petals each night, get up early for an apple or two early in the morning before she could notice he was gone, and spend the rest of the day talking with her. The two had grown so close to each other that they were open about nearly anything now. All except for their feelings, in which Sakura was unsure of and Naruto was afraid to admit or else receive the worst possible response. Two pees in a pod. The best of friends. The fox and the cherry blossom tree. Whether it was love or friendship between the two of them, no one could doubt that they had something special. If she cried, he'd be there to wipe away the tears. If she screamed, he'd be there to fight away her fears. If she was shattered apart, he'd be there to pick up the pieces. It was all about her, never about himself. That was how much he loved her.

However, as tightly bonded as they were, she was afraid to lose him. She knew Fall would be here soon, and that would be when she'd begin to go dormant until the next Spring, when her cherry blossoms would bloom again, and she didn't want him to think he'd lost her for good and leave. She didn't have the heart to tell him though. How could she? She didn't want to hurt him, even if he would be so stubborn enough to say that he'd wait next to her all Winter until next Spring to talk to her again. She didn't want to risk losing their bond they had built, because once such a bond falls to pieces, it takes forever to put it back together, and it's never the same again. He was understanding, and forgiving, but still she couldn't predict how he'd react and therefore didn't want to tell him.

Each day that passed by was bringing more and more colder times, turning the leaves yellow and orange and red, putting the flowers to sleep and bringing time to a slower pace. Without an apple tree to pick off of, Naruto had to go further in search of something to eat, and the mornings were becoming cold enough for him to see his own breath and shiver in where there was no light. But still he stayed. Still he stayed with her, because he couldn't ever leave her.

The day that dawned felt like a lazy one. It was quiet, things weren't as green as they were before and there were less flowers around in the field. Naruto had noticed how fewer Sakura's cherry blossom petals were becoming and felt a ping of worry. Did it mean she was dying? He didn't know, but never asked, partly because he felt out of place to ask such a question and partly because he was afraid to hear her say yes. The two talked seldom this time, not as much as they did in the days before, but they were both listening to the change of season. The day itself dragged on.

Naruto yawned wide, giving a view of his gleaming white fangs. Weather like this always made him more tired more quickly, and this Sakura took notice of.

"If you want to sleep, then sleep Naruto", she told him kindly, causing him to look up at her with a soft gaze that had just a small hint of drowsiness in it.

"But what if you get lonesome?", he asked her. "No way, I'm not going to let you feel alone and by yourself! No matter how many times I yawn or how tired I am, I'll push myself to stay awake until nightfall when we both sleep!", he told her with newfound determination lighting up his eyes to their bright blue.

"Oh Naruto", She chuckled at him with a sigh, knowing how stubborn he was and that when his mind was set, there was just no changing it.

The two talked a little more to pass the time about various different things, laughing then and again when something funny came up into the conversation or when one of them told a joke. It was a comfortable atmosphere for the two to talk the way they did, when only a near month ago they had only just met and were unsure of the other, but now it seemed as if they've always known each other. They were as close as Heaven and Earth.

Night came round at last. A slim crescent shape floated in the sky where a full moon would be, and there weren't as many stars, lessening the light that would fill the field in the summer time.

Naruto slept soundly beneath her, body and tails curled around her base to keep her warm in the cold night air.

She looked down and watched him, his silent form sleeping with an everlasting smile on his gental face, and it made her smile at that.

" _Naruto…I think…I…_ ", that thought faded into the back of Sakura's mind. Perhaps it was too soon to think that far ahead…

The next frigid morning came. Naruto hadn't even woken up yet, and there was no sun, only dark clouds that carried with them a coming storm. A shiver ran through his body, causing him to wake and meet the cold of the morning. He lifted his head and yawned, a cloud of his breath forming from his open jaws as he breathed out. He sneezed, shaking his head to clear it and sniffling a little.

"Morning Sakura", he said to her, as per usual every morning. But, she didn't answer back like she usually did, and he felt worry spark within him. "Sakura?", he said her name in question, wondering if something might be wrong. Unfortunately for him, something was. He looked down at the ground at his paws and realized there were a lot of cherry blossom petals scattered around, more then there should have been. He looked up at her branches in panic, only to find them empty and bare, and his eyes shrank at that realization.

"Sakura? Sakura?!", he got up quickly onto his paws and circled around her worriedly, hoping she'd say sometime to show she was still there, but she said nothing.

"Sakura please! Say something! Anything! Sakura!", he begged, standing up on his hind legs and placing his paws on the trunk, looking up at the tree with fear and the pain of loss in his eyes as tears began to brim. But she still said nothing.

Thunder rumbled overhead signaling the storm was nearby and coming fast.

"No…No please! You can't be gone! Don't leave me, please!", Naruto cried, tears finally breaking free of their prison from his eyes, soaking his cheek fur before the rain had the chance to. "Please…Please…", he continued to beg as he put the top of his head against the tree trunk, eyes closed as he let the tears flow freely. "I need you…", he said in his sadness, sobbing softly, feeling his heart slowly fall to pieces at the sound of silence that greeted him.

"I love you…", he finally confessed, but he couldn't tell if she was even there to hear him say it. He felt sad, and alone, without her there. He felt like he'd been shattered to nothing, unable to be put back together like a broken toy, with a gaping hole in his chest.

"SAKURAAAAAAAAA!", he yelled her name in anguish to the sky, wind blowing the cherry blossom petals around in a flurry, thunder rumbling through the clouds with flashes of light. And finally the rain came.

It poured. It soaked the land, and Naruto's fur, dulling it. But he didn't care, he felt numb to the cold sky water, tears blending in with the droplets. He cried openly, not caring who saw if anyone watched. He knew she was gone, and had a pit deep feeling of darkness that she's never coming back. He only wished he could hear her voice one last time, just one last time to uplift his downed spirits and comfort him, tell him it was going to be alright. But all he heard was rain and wind and the sound of his own weeping. Once again, he was the lonely fox, not a single friend close enough like Sakura to talk his sorrows to. It broke his heart. And like he had told her, when she asked him about love, loneliness hurts. He began to feel the aching pain of failure. Having failed to keep his promise, failing to protect her. Every ounce of him missed her, and he wanted her back, to save him from the swirling darkness of depression that would soon suffocate him to death, and turn him into someone only half alive.

Unwillingly, he parted from the tree trunk, head held low as he cried. He looked down at his paws again and saw a small twig-sized branch lying in the wet grass, with just one still blooming cherry blossom attached at the end, with the sweet scent still lingering enough for him to catch it. He bent his head down and picked it up gently between his teeth, and began to exit the field towards the tree line, carrying with him the last cherry blossom. With regret of leaving her, if ever she were to return and he wasn't there to say hello, he looked back at the once full tree, staring at the spooky empty branches that swayed in the wind with the rain. His blue eyes were dull, filled only with the deepest sadness anyone would ever see in their cerulean depths. And slowly, he turned his head away moving on even though every nerve and muscle in his body protested the idea of leaving his best friend behind. He moved at a slow pace, splashing a puddle on the ground every now and then with his big paws, and everything about him said somber.

He walked along as others who always glared at him, gave him a look of sympathy for once. They saw the cherry blossom, watched his body language closely, and could tell by the look of his sad dull eyes that he was the most lost being on earth. Some whispered amongst each other, glancing at him and gossiping, but he didn't care. Not a single soul shot him a glare, they saw the feelings he had, and that they had been crushed. Some began to have second thoughts about how they'd treated him in the past, others just stared on with sad looks of their own. His nine tails dragged behind him on the wet ground and his fur was drenched to the bone, hanging heavily from his thick-built figure. He carried the cherry blossom so gently that he didn't bother to close his jaw all the way, he gripped it as lightly as he could in his teeth but still strongly enough to secure it there. That is when he had finally found his answer to the thought that had been buzzing around his head since he met her. He couldn't let her go.

Thunder clapped loudly in the sky after a streak of lightning flashed across it, illuminating him and bringing back his shadow for only a few seconds. But as much as he was numb, he was also deaf. He heard nothing but her voice in his head, saw nothing but her beauty in his mind, and smelled nothing but sweet cherry.

He stopped, pausing where he stood, and ever so slowly lifted his head up to look at the sky, blinking away the rain from his eyes. He watched the lightning flash by.

" _I'm so lost…I can't even…_ ", he let his head fall back down low, eyes closed to let more tears slip through and he continued onward until he truly was alone, without anyone to see him.

He found a cliff that overlooked the valley, and set the cherry blossom down gently. " _I wish you could be here with me…To see this view, to smile with me, to laugh together…_ ", he thought, imagining how it could have been if that had actually happened. Slowly his facial expression began to deepen with sadness and fall, until he was sobbing again. Finally, he'd about had it. He picked up his paw with his unsheathed claws, put it to his face, and quickly with another yell of anguish slashed his claws across his own face, tearing into his own flesh and drawing blood. This left three large gashes across his face, beginning above his right eye and crossing his nose to his left cheek. He hardly felt the pain of it at all, while his face fur was not only soaked by the rain, but now by his blood. The sky water that fell turned red when it fell from the fur on his face, creating a trail of red water that ran like a small stream down the slightly sloped ledge he sat on.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!", he lifted his head and roared with the storm. It seemed nothing could break him, he was stronger than steel, but it seemed the loss of a close friend was his kryptonite. He let his body fall limp to the ground on his flank, not willing to move or get up. He lied there in the rain, cherry blossom next to him, and slowly his eyes closed as he let his sadness wash over him and put him to sleep. The wind blew, and picked up the last cherry blossom with it.

"Help!", Naruto awoke to the sound of another voice from the distance, sounding as if it was in distress, but it wasn't Sakura's.

"Help!", he heard it again, and this time it woke him up completely as he rolled over onto his stomach and stood to his paws, shaking off his sorrowful stupor. The day was brighter than the day before, but it was chilly and unwelcoming, and everything smelled of fresh rain.

"Someone help us!", came a different voice, and he looked back toward the trees in the direction he heard the sound from, before hearing a loud booming explosion. That sent him running towards the calls for help, forgetting about his sad state and the scars done by his own actions left on his face, all that mattered to him right now was trying to get to those in danger before it was too late. Because they mattered, more than he did.

He reached what was more or less the village of dancing leaves, where he had walked through the day before, and to find what? The white snake bastard he had fought once in the past. The snake was again big enough to swallow Naruto and those around him whole.

"Run! It's Orochimaru!", he heard one say as they ran away from the attacking white serpent, and his attention turned back to the serpent known as this feared Orochimaru, who had a couple young ones cornered and cowering in fear.

Orochimaru hissed and opened his jaws wide to engulf the children, but he was stopped by a reddish-orange streak of mass as it attacked his cheek, digging its fangs into his scaly skin. Orochimaru backed away and tried to shake his attacker off, finally throwing the figure off his face and sending it flying to the side, but the mass of fur landed on all four of his feet.

"Leave them alone!", snarled the brave warrior who had enough guts to stand up to Orochimaru.

Everyone stopped in their tracks to stare at their savior, and their eyes widened when they recognized the blue eyes and nine tails of the fox named Naruto. He growled and bared his fangs at the serpent, head hung low and neck fur bristling to intimidate. "I'll tear you to fucking shreds!", he snarled as his blue eyes turned colder than ice.

A flash of memory came to him, when he remembered the words Sakura had told him about getting the right attention of others. " _You're just unique is all. Sometimes it's good to be different, but not everyone is going to recognize that, so you just have to show them. It all depends on what it takes for them to see the good in your heart_ ", those words echoed in his ears, as if she was saying them to him right now, and it fueled him with strength. This was his chance to prove to them that he wasn't who or what they thought him to be, to prove to them that he was good-natured and pure-hearted. To prove to them, that he was Naruto Uzumaki, the kind nine tailed fox.

"Foolish boy!", hissed Orochimaru in anger. "I'll teach you to mind your place!", said the white serpent, as he lunged forward at Naruto.

" _This is for you, Sakura_ ", Naruto thought in his mind, and waited till the last minute to dodge Orochimaru's attack and jump to the side, then onto the snake's back, and he bit deep into it while digging his claws in for extra hold.

"GAAAAHHH!", Orochimaru hissed when he felt the pain of fangs and claws dig into him, and tossed his body around in a desperate attempt to get rid of the pest, but Naruto wouldn't let go. Finally, Orochimaru through himself at a large boulder, crushing Naruto between him and it causing the fox to let go. When Orochimaru moved away, Naruto was lying on the ground, limp and unmoving.

"I told you I'd teach you to mind your place!", laughed the evil serpent, accompanied by the sound of mourning villagers for their fallen warrior, some calling his name and others yelling at him to get up, but they got no response.

However…Poof. The fox's body was gone in a plume of smoke, confusing the villagers and even Orochimaru himself. It was a shadow clone all along!

"I won't give up so easily! That's a promise! And I never break my promises! I never go back on my word! I WILL protect my people! Because that is my nindo, my ninja way!", came Naruto's voice, but from where nobody knew, until suddenly they saw a figure jump into the air and fly towards the white snake, with a glowing, blue, rapid spinning orb generating from his open jaws. "RASENGAN!", he yelled out the name of the attack just before impact with Orochimaru's body. At first the orb tore at Orochimaru from the inside out, but then it sent him flying back a good few hundred feet. Orochimaru was down, but not for long. The tumbling of his body caused dust to fly up, keeping him hidden, and he took the chance to go after Naruto with rage. Before the fox had time to move, the snake had hold of him in his jaws, and the sound of his pained yelps were glorious sounds of triumph to his ears. Many of the villagers screamed in protest and to let Naruto go, but of course, he didn't listen. He began to crush Naruto's body in his hold.

" _I…It's over…I'm a goner for sure!_ ", thought Naruto, hearing his bones crack under the pressure of Orochimaru's jaws, feeling his body be racked with new pain. But suddenly survival instinct kicked in and he clawed at the snake's eye, causing the serpent to drop him with a hiss. He recreated his prior attack, letting it form in his open maw with a growl.

"RASENGAAAAAAN!", he roared as he jumped at the white snake and landed the aim of the rasengan on his throat. Once the attack did it's damage and disappeared, Naruto dropped to his paws, followed by a limp Orochimaru. The white snake bastard was dead. The villagers cheered as they came out from their hiding places, but didn't get too close to him, partly fearing him and partly fearing the serpent that lied vanquished on the ground. Naruto looked up and gave a dry, exhausted smile to his audience. He had won.

But he was hurt, and as the cheering died down he slowly limped and disappeared into the trees. He limped as far as his exhausted, crushed body could go, and when it couldn't go any further he collapsed, but all the while he smiled. " _I did it…Sakura…For us! It's just like you said…I had to show them who I was…And it worked…I've won…I've won…I've won…_ ", he thought, his eyes slowly closing, as he slipped into the darkness of unconsciousness.

"Naruto. Wake up, Naruto. Wake up", he heard a faint, but angelic voice say to him.

" _W-who's there?...Am I dead?_ ", he thought, seeing only darkness. The sweet scent of cherry blossoms filled his nose, one scent he couldn't ever forget. " _Is that you, Sakura?_ ", he asked in his thoughts.

"Wake up, Naruto. You're safe now. Open your eyes", came the same angelic voice, speaking softly into his ear.

Slowly Naruto opened his eyes, everything being a blur at first. He felt pain wash over his body and he groaned, the images of the earlier battle coming back to his memory. He felt someone touching him, a soft touch he knew well, too well to mistake it for another. "Sa…Sa…Sakur…a…", came his withered voice as his vision began to clear up.

"I'm here Naruto, it's me", he heard her say softly, it made him melt at the tenderness in it. She was healing his wounds with her medical ninjutsu, relieving his pain. He moved his head just a little so he could see her, but to his surprise, she was not what he expected to see.

"Sakura? Y-you're a…", his eyes stared at her with shock, as he saw two long ears, soft pink fur, counted nine tails that weren't his own, and two beautiful green emerald gems staring back at him.

"I told you", she chuckled with a shrug. "I'm a Haruno, and Harunos start out as souls inside of trees, then take the form of their true love", she said, while she continued to tend to his wounds.

"True…Love?", he asked, too weak to show any real shock but it was easy to tell he was surprised. " _Could she mean…?_ ", he thought in his head. Oh, his poor, aching head. The migraine hit him hard as he gained complete feeling in all of his battered form.

Sakura only nodded as a response, but spoke after a two minute silence. "Naruto…I never did get to tell you…", she began.

"Tell me…What?", he asked, trying to move his body, but nothing happened and he didn't move a single inch, almost as if he was paralyzed.

"That I…Lo-", she stopped in her sentence, afraid to finally admit her feelings to him.

"Can I tell you something…First?", he asked, smiling through his weakened state at her.

"W-what is it?", she asked in a bit of a shaky voice, but quickly swallowed her fears, and was ready to listen to him.

"I…Love you…Sakura", he said weakly. "You're…Everything to me…My entire world…My…Cherry Blossom", he told her, no longer having any shyness about admitting such things to the girl he truly loved, the girl he'd do anything for.

Sakura was so shocked to hear him say it first that her heart was caught in her throat and she felt butterflies in her stomach. "Naruto…", she said softly.

"If you don't feel the same way…Then that's fine…I just wanted you to know that…That's how I felt, about you…But I hope…We can still be friends?", he said, moving his gaze away and letting a little bit of sadness show, but tried to hide how hurt he'd feel if she did reject him. But then, he felt something warm brush across his cheek fur and his eyes widened at her, realizing that she had just given him their first kiss.

"How could I reject someone like you? You helped me realize that looks don't matter, it only matters how beautiful you appear in someone else's eyes, someone that really cares about you more then themselves. And therefore are ready to die for you, to do anything it takes to ensure your safety and well being. Love is the only thing in this world that covers up the pain and makes us feel wonderful again", she said, repeating the words he had told her about love. "And I love you, Naruto", she finally said it, smiling down at him.

He stared at her blankly, and then looked away with a weak smile of genuine happiness. " _She loves me…_ ", he thought, letting it all sink in. " _She really loves me!_ ", he thought with excitement coursing through him.

"You're not a demon, Naruto", he heard her say, and he looked back towards her. "You're a hero. You're my hero", she said with meaning behind her words, and it only made him smile wider.

"Nah…I'm just a reckless idiot…Who doesn't know any better", he joked, and was able to get a small laugh out of her.

"Yes but, you're MY reckless idiot who doesn't know any better, but knows just how to make someone feel good again and lift them up from their sorrows", Sakura told him, and bent her head down to nuzzle him in the muzzle with her own, as a nine tailed fox. "I love you", she spoke softly and angelically to him, his nostrils filling with the sweet scent of cherry blossoms that he loved.

"I love you too, Sakura", Naruto said back to her, as he gently nuzzled her in return, even though he was so weak it was hard to move. But for her, it was all worthwhile.

They were Heaven and Earth, connected by their love. They were, the fox and the cherry blossom tree.

The end.


End file.
